The Online College Admissions System (OCAS), created by the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) together with the Punjab Higher Education Department (PHED), has logged upwards of 225,000 online applications for intermediate seats in public colleges throughout Punjab.
Women submitted over 147,000 applications, representing 65.25% of the total, while men filed roughly 78,000 applications, or 34.75%, showing strong female participation.
FA and ICS were the leading streams, attracting 86,220 and 72,043 applications respectively, together making up about 70% of all submissions. FSc Pre-Medical came in third with 39,255 applications. Female candidates accounted for 80% of Pre-Medical, 69% of FA and 58% of ICS applications.
In technical fields, FA-IT received 9,951 applications, with women comprising 63% of those. Male applicants were more prevalent in DIT and D.Com. Other courses such as Home Economics, Medical Lab Technology, Dental Hygiene and Physiotherapy Technology attracted fewer applicants.
PITB Chairman Faisal Yousaf said, "OCAS has simplified the college admission process and helped students avoid long queues." He noted that the educational data produced by the system also aids government decision-making and future planning.
Prospective students may file their forms at ocas.punjab.gov.pk. Integrated with PayZen, OCAS now lets applicants pay fees via mobile banking, ATMs, debit and credit cards, TCS and branchless banking channels.
